Malaga have had one of the big falls from grace in Spanish football history over the last six years. They had been a consistent La Liga side for almost 20 years at the point of their relegation in 2018, and in 2022-23, they were relegated from Segunda. However, one year on, they are back in the second tier – and in extremely dramatic fashion.
Malaga led 2-1 going into Saturday’s second leg of their play-off final against Nastic. Things looked to be going well for them when the hosts were reduced to 10 men with the score still 0-0 on the night, but a goal from Alan Godoy forced extra time. It got even worse for the visitors in the 93rd minute, as Gorka Santamaria made it 3-2 on aggregate to Nastic.
Because Nastic finished higher in their respective First Federation group, Malaga needed to score twice to secure promotion. Remarkably, they did it. Dioni made it 3-3 on aggregate in the 108th minute, before Antonio Cordero scored in the second minute of stoppage time to secure promotion, sparking wild scenes.